Golf
RBC Heritage preview: Cantlay to sail to victory at Harbour Town
After a riveting four days of golf at Augusta, which saw Scottie Scheffler pull on the Green Jacket for a second time, the PGA Tour heads to South Carolina for the RBC Heritage.
Most might have appreciated a rest week but the Tour rolls on and this is no weak field due to this being on of the Signature Events with increased prize money and FedExCup points.
Scheffler will tee it up once again just four days after his epic victory at Augusta, whilst a host of other top players will be hoping to get the better of the Masters champion this week.
Find our selections for the RBC Heritage below.
Patrick Cantlay 16/1
Patrick Cantlay did not have the Masters tournament he would’ve hoped for, finishing T22 with a final score of four-over-par, which was still a respectable performance in what were some tricky conditions at Augusta.
That finishing position was his fourth best of the season, with 2024 not necessarily being one of Cantlay’s best years yet. Kicking off his year with a T12 at The Sentry was a solid enough start and he has since followed up with a T11 and season’s best T4 at The Genesis Invitational.
However, his form at this tournament reads much better, finishing T7 or better in five of his six outings at Harbour Town. He has found himself in the top three on four occasions, including last year, with a runner-up finish his best effort in 2022. Despite having never won here, past performances would suggest that he is due to finish atop the leaderboard sooner rather than later. Winning has not evaded Cantlay on the PGA Tour and the American has eight titles to his name so far, with more sure to come.
Cantlay is the definition of consistency, very rarely missing cuts or falling victim to a blowup hole. He has not been at his vintage best yet this season, ranking outside the top 50 on the Tour for every key statistic as far as strokes gained are concerned, from off-the-tee to on the green. His putting has been the best of his assets so far and, although the flatstick appeared a touch cold at Masters, we can excuse that effort given he almost never gets it rolling at Augusta.
At 16/1 Cantlay is somewhat surprisingly behind four others in the betting, with his 2024 form probably partly to blame. However, if there is anywhere where we feel he can truly hit his stride it is at Harbour Town, where he has finished in the 7 places available with William Hill all but once and will be hoping to finally get his name on the trophy having come so close so many times.
Si Woo Kim 30/1
Si Woo Kim is another who put in a reasonable showing at the Masters last week, finishing T30 having played the weekend very well, with his final two rounds combining for a total of one-under-par.
He can certainly take that as a positive heading into this Signature Event, where at 30/1 he is ahead of some big names in Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala in the betting.
Kim’s first two appearances at the RBC Heritage were his best to date, finishing T14 on his debut in 2016 and then narrowly missing out in a play-off against Satoshi Kodaira two years later. His more recent form is nothing to shout about having missed the cut here last year, but we feel that he can bounce back in style at Harbour Town.
He has been consistently chipping away at solid finishes on the PGA Tour this season, managing six top 25 finishes and one T6 from his 10 starts this season. That T6 came not too long ago at The Players, which he followed up with a T17 and then the aforementioned T30 at the Masters.
Kim’s all-round ball striking has been up there with the best on the Tour this season, ranking inside the top 20 for total strokes gained, as well as strokes gained from tee-to-green, off-the-tee and around the green, whilst his approach play ranks 27th.
His putting is what has really let him down, losing strokes to the rest of the Tour on the greens, with his flatstick currently ranking 140th on the Tour. However, when finishing P2 here back in 2018, Kim did manage to get the putter to oblige, ranking 18th in the field on the greens, proving that he can get it to roll right for him here.
The 28-year-old already has four wins to his name on the PGA Tour and has finished in the 7 places available with William Hill enough times to make him a threat to the leaders at any tournament, not to mention one where he has come so close to victory once before.
